Mobile flip-stand with drawers

I honestly did not start this project intending for it to be a flip sandwiched between 2 storage units. I did want to build a flip stand for my miter saw and planer at some point, but storage was my main priority when starting this. However, I really wanted to try pre-finished birch plywood, and it worked out perfectly for 2 sheets of 4’x8’ 3/4” so I decided to do this all at once.

This project was also an excuse for me to try finger joints (for the drawers), and I decided to use poplar for them. The handles are also small pieces of poplar connected with drawer screws into brass threaded inserts. I wanted to save money on the drawer slides and also had some extra maple strips, so I used the maple as guides (dado’d into the carcass). The drawers are finished with sanding sealer and paste wax, which seems to give a very smooth drawer action.

The flip design is derived from a number of other projects out there. A 1/2” steel bar was sandwiched between 2 sheets of 3/4” plywood – the steel bar sits inside oil-impregnated brass bushings that have shoulders on them so the bar can’t pop out – this also keeps the action very smooth. Large eye bolts were used for the 4 corner locks that swivel out of the way. To create the space between the drawer units (so the flip would not scrape the sides), I used what appear to be UHMW washers that came with a TV stand. I put a small screw into each one and wired it to the corner bolt so I would not lose them.

Here is a video of the flip stand in action – apologies as it’s my first video and I was doing the flip with 1 hand – I suppose that is a good test for the usability of the stand!

The edges of the plywood are finished with some maple strips leftover. The mobile bases are leftover 2×4s probably from Home Depot. The wheel are 3” single locking from Amazon.

If I did this project again, I would build a single mobile base for the entire unit and get 4” or 5” dual-locking wheels. The reason is that I do notice some flex sometimes when rolling the unit, and I think a single base would eliminate that. Also, the larger dual-locking wheels, although more expensive, would allow easier rolling.

Thanks for the views of an excellent project – nice design with great execution. Time for me to copy your project for better use of my limited shop space. One modification I’m considering is to mount the tools on a base piece of plywood that would fit into the rotating top. This would allow me to easily change out tools over time or have more than two tools that could be mounted in the top. And perhaps I could use the mounting base to adjust the height of a tool to match the infeed/outfeed cabinet tops?

Phil – excellent point on the swappable base to attach to the flip. The rotating top took me a while to get just right, and without a swappable base I cringe at drilling new mounting holes into it for a new tool. You can see I just put custom height blocks under the tool to match the cabinet tops, but it would be nice if the adjusted height was attached to a swappable base.

IndianJoe – let me know what other angles / zooms you want to see – happy to add some more to clarify how I built it.

Very nice, adding it to my favorites to make by the end of the year just with a torsion box on the bottom to eliminate the flex that you mention. How is your height; does it work well for both tools? I assume you have it so that boards with lie across the top for the chop saw.

Derosa – thanks and good luck with your build. The height works well for me – I designed it so the top of the cabinets are maybe 1/8” below the top of my table saw so I can use it as a small in/out feed if needed. I set the flip top low enough so I would have to put blocks under my current tools to bring them just above the cabinets. If I get a bigger miter saw, hopefully I will just have to reduce the risers or remove them altogether. I like the tool to be just barely above the cabinet so it supports the piece if needed but doesn’t alter the cut.